Track participates in the PL Championships

This past Saturday, the men’s and women’s track teams traveled to West Point, New York to participate in one of the most important events of the year.

Several different athletes in many different events, from runners to jumpers to throwers, went in with the goal of trying to top their past performances.

After finishing in fifth place last year, the men’s team again placed fifth. Meanwhile, the women’s team finished in fourth, although it secured a second place finish last year.

The men were led by senior runner Ryan Mahalsky. He continued a great final season with the team by winning 5,000 and 10,000 meter races and won Track Athlete of the Meet.

Freshman Trevor Knowles also had a first place finish. He obtained it in his signature event, the decathlon, and was awarded Rookie of the Meet.

On the women’s side, three different athletes won titles. Senior Natalie Bates continued to have success in the Heptathlon and took first, which is also where sophomore Courtney Avery finished in the high jump. Senior runner Shannon Nelson also stood out, winning the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a personal best time of 10:49.33.

The men’s team secured 92 total points at the event, while first Navy was the run-away first place finisher. Its 251.5 points were over 100 more than second place Army.

The women’s standings were a lot more closely bunched together. Bucknell University won with 165 points. However, Lehigh had 120 points and nearly finished third since Army finished just ahead with 122.5 points.

The next event for the men and the women is the ECAC/IC4A Championships, which begin on May 15. A total of 28 different track athletes from Lehigh are preparing to take part in this meet.